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marty -> RE: Predictions for Next Week (and maybe beyond) (12/11/2013 10:20:42 PM)
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It wasn't just the Greenway PI that was fishy, there was entire pattern of officiating that favored Baltimore when you add in another crucial PI call (Blanton) on an earlier Raven's drive, the Gerhart fumble with his knee down, the phantom hold where Patterson would have gotten it down to 1st and goal the 2 yard line, the 2 poor spots (1 where the Ravens only went 9 yards to get a 1st down) and that last Ravens' TD easily could have been ruled NO TD as the WR didn't have the ball until his feet were up in the air and out of bounds, etc ....
It all seemed to be heavily one sided, why would they do that ? There were several games this past weekend where the officiating might have been influencing the outcome, including the help NE got to make a large comeback against Cleveland, and I read and talked to a Lions fan that thought Philly was helped a bit. It was funny reading the article about the officiating not being fair to the Vikes, and in the comments section there was a Seahawks fan talking about how the refs made sure the Steelers won the SB against his team.
Why might there be some tinkering this time of year ? It may have something to do with betting, to have close races, a certain amount of parity, or other reasons.
It's quite possible they want Baltimore vying for a playoff spot, or even in the playoffs. Let's not forget Baltimore was given an enormous amount of help in winning the SB, with calls and non calls, and even allowing Baltimore players to throw punches and push an official with no recourse, no ejection, not even a penalty.
The problem with predicting that the refs will help Baltimore win at Detroit is that there was plenty of attention brought to the refs helping the Ravens beat the Vikings, it would raise quite a bit of suspicion if they sided with them 2 weeks in a row. It's also harder to help a team on the road, and Detroit is coming off a loss. It could end up being a lopsided Detroit win, where the refs will be unable to help the Ravens enough. However, if they care about the outcome, the refs might get involved helping the Ravens early with calls and non calls. So far, there is more betting on the Lions, the spread has moved a little bit.
The refs won't be messing with this game, but if it's a close game, it would be surprising if it were the Lions getting the benefit of a bad or 'blown' call, any such call is likely to be in the Ravens' favor.
So if it's not that game, are there any games where there could be a little tinkering, and if so, which side ? Two home teams: Pittsburgh to beat Cincy, and maybe Cleveland to beat Chicago. It seems like too easy of money to bet Chicago, they were starting out as 2 point underdogs, and it's now a pick 'em game, heavy betting on Chicago. IOW, it would be quite surprising if either of these games are close, that a crucial call will go in either Cincy or Chicagos' favor.
If they ARE messing with games, I don't think they mess with more than one game a week. The trick is to figure out which one.
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